Caitlin Clark is back, The Fever's interesting moves

Published by itstooimportant.com in WNBA · Tuesday 12 May 2026 · 4 minutes

Normally I am one to give the benefit off the doubt. Unfortunately while my active basketball knowledge may be older, there is only so many things that can be done within the confines of a basketball court.

I grew up watching basketball at every level. I played before the three point line and shot clocks. The principal was somewhat simple, get the ball close to the basket for an easy score The hardest shot to make was the free throw as it was generally the longest shot permitted. Guards were there to bring the ball up and get a motion office going to let the big players get the ball and score. The big payers were either Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russel, soon to be replaced by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Thurmond, and Bill Walton. the alternative was to have the big forwards get the sots and the center playing high to pull the defending center away from the basket. This was the key to the Tom Borwinkle era Chicago Bulls. George Mikan who as a player and league president (American Basketball Association) was responsible for a number of rules. The widening of the lane, the three second lane rule, and yes, a gimmick called the three point line.

I bring this up because the Indiana Fever seem to have one dominant big player, one who is learning, and the rest of the experience is in the various guard positions. The game plan relies heavily on making three point shots. All off season there was talk at the fan base level to add bigs to compliment the cor guards of Kelsey Mitchel and Caitlin Clark, the swing guard forwards Lexi Hull and Sophie Cunningham. The draft would have been a good place to start. By their draft time There were a few bigs available including Hannah Stulke who had played with Clark and could easily integrate into the team. Known for her defense, she is a good internal scorer, even scored 45 point in a game. Stulke could easily have been the four point eight to ten minute player needed to give Aliyah Boston some rest.

On and off Chloe Bibby has been and is still available. Again, someone who could go eight to ten minutes to give Boston a break. There were a few others also.

Since the Fever loves guards, why not go after Kate Martin with the developmental contract like the Los Angeles Sparks did? They chose Bree Hall who has chronically not performed at the same level or even close to Kate Martin. Again, add Kate Martin and you have someone who understands Caitlin Clark's offensive passing and offense spread capabilities.

With all of the new money available it seems we have general managers that are either past rewarding certain players or just do not understand how to build rosters with the new money. I am not a fan of salary caps, but am a fan of payroll taxes the way MLB handles salary capping per team. Also since there is a lack of a minor league to keep players ready which could easily be developed if the league really wanted to get great, it could be done.

I am not the only one watching the 2026 season with a fine tooth comb.